In the conclusion of two-part episode that serves as the season three finale, Emma and Hook must find a way to return to Storybrooke, but in their quest to return, they have to find a way not to interfere or tamper with the events that lead up to the first curse, or else they risk altering the entire timeline, and could end up warping the future existence of everyone involved, including Emma, Hook, as well as Emma's family back in present-day Storybrooke.

David Hinckley

To draw out the story by looping it through subplots and minidramas runs the risk of turning it into a fairy-tale soap opera--when what we really want to know is whether the tragic Snow White or the lonely Emma can in the end live happily ever after.

Troy Patterson

Alan Sepinwall

The larger problem, though, is that unless you're deeply invested in the fairy tale characters and seeing the variations on their familiar backstories--seeing, for instance, that Snow and Charming had a very different first meeting than the one we know about--then most of the story and character work is flat, despite a cast of likable, game actors.

Nancy DeWolf Smith

Maureen Ryan

There are times when the enterprise lacks a certain heft and when the fantasy realm seems a little generic. Also, some characters, especially Lana Parrilla's Evil Queen (who is also the mayor of Storybrooke), are one-dimensional in kind of maddening ways, though Robert Carlyle makes up for that with his charismatic turn as both Rumplestiltskin and a Storybrooke resident named Mr. Gold.